Definition

A medical condition where there is a lower than normal number of a type of white blood cell called neutrophils in the blood, which can make it harder for the body to fight infections.

Example

The doctor diagnosed her with neutropenia after reviewing her blood test results.

Conversation

Hey, have you heard about neutropenia?

Yeah, I read something about it recently; it's related to low white blood cell counts, right?

Exactly! It can really affect a person's immune system.

That sounds serious; I hope people are getting the help they need.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Neutropenia is formed from "neutro-" (from Greek "neutros", meaning neither or neutral) and "-penia" (from Greek "penia", meaning poverty or deficiency). The term describes a deficiency of neutrophils, which are a type of white blood cell that is neither high nor low in count, but specifically low in this case.

Memory Tip

Think of 'neutral' ('neutro-') indicating a balance and 'deficiency' ('-penia') showing a lack — neutropenia means a lack of neutral white blood cells.

Visually Confused Words